Bread slicing machine



Oct. 21, 1941. H. J. CRINER BREAD SLICING MACHINE Filed July 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l IN VENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 21, 1941. H. J. CRINER BREAD SLICING MACHINE Filed July 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M INVENTOR. I

ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 21, 1941 BREAD SLfICING MACHINE Harry J. Criner, Davenport, Iowa, assignor of onehalf to A. G. Bush, Davenport, Iowa Application July 20, 1939, Serial No. 285,486

13 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements inlbread slicing machines.

The objects of my invention are to provide a new and improved spacing apparatus which may be utilized either to adjustably and uniformly spacaguide and twist the blades of aband-blade machine or to support and adjustably and uniformly space the blades of a reciprocating slicing machine; to provide means by which the opposite cutting courses of each band-blade in abread slicing machine may travel in parallel between the carrying drums and make successive slicing cuts in the loaf being sliced and tow reduce the twisting of the blades necessary to enable them to slice the bread at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the loaves. Other objects will appear in the specification.

I accomplish these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my machine;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of my machine from the left of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional detail on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional detail show-- ing a pair of fingered supporting members with an adjusting member mounted thereon;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail sideview of the mechanism shown in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail side view ofone "Ofthe adjustingmembers;

Figure 7 is an edge view of one of the ad-just- -ing--mem-bers;

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail of an alternate "form of connection between the adjusting mem- -bers and the supportingmembers in which a plurality of tongues and grooves take the place ofthe threads in Figure 4;

v Figure 9 is an enlarged detail side view ofthe mechanism shown =in-Figure 8;

-Figure 10 is an enlarged detail sideview ofone --of theradjusting members shown in Figure-8 and Figure 11 is anedgeview of same;

-Figure -12 is a diagrammatic sketch showing the angle of the bread feeding and discharge:

parts -boss 4. andan axle-shaft i secured in the boss 3.

shaft 7 and the shaft 8 respectivelyandaplurality of. band-blades 15 (shown by single lines in FigureZ) ma be mounted uponrthe drums with all of them'running in the samadirection.

Intermediate thebosses 3 and' iI form suitable bearing bossesj and 6 integral with the column and mount rotatably therein shafts l3 and 1.4 respectively. 'Ihe shaft I3; is providedwitha hand-wheel l5 united to ;theshaft byapin {5" by which the shaft ,may berotated :inleither direction. The, shaft L4 has-unitedthereto a hand-wheel l6 secured by a pin 16'.

Upon the. shaft i4 is slidably mounte d a pl rality of. supporting members. .eachsunmrtin member having united thereto a f nger [2 which may .carry a slot; lj2' inwhich one cutting-course of .a blade 15. maytravel.

Alternate supportingmembers have 1 their fingers IZeXtending in opposite directions-along the line of travel ofthe bread-torbqsliced.

Each supporting member .;l:| and l is formed with a projecting neckpl Id on {one side ;and; the opposite side has .anenlarged bore llf formed therein. Surrounding the bore [If the supporting members are. internally threaded as at ;l c.

The shafts .l3 and .IAHarefree to turn ,inthe supporting members I .I sand .1 1 respectively. Upon the shafts..l3 and M are ,slidably mounted cup-shaped adjusting-members :l I each of which carries a key ll" whichslides in a groove i4 formed in the shaft. M which shaft ,14 passes through a bore Ma in the center .of eachadjusting member l1.

The necks Ha are formed .with peripheral ,35 grooves Hbtherein. The necks @I la are mounted so as to extendcinto their adjacentadjusting member5' I! and are freely rotatable'thereinbut are held against lateral separationtherefrom; by pins liaseated in;the flanges of the adjusting members i! and extending into thegrooves lil b. The adjusting members H have threads .l.1' formed uponvtheir peripheries which mesh .with the threads! l-c ofthe supporting members. 7 As thus formed,=it is obviousrthat when the shaft, 14 is rotated it will carrywith it the-adjusting members l1. Anvdesirableemeans .may be utilized to secure :the supporting members II and H'- against rotation, but I. prefer to form them with :a groove or keyway l8 cut in .their peripheries .opposite the side towhichthe fingers I2 are attached and to mounta fixed crossbar l9 upon the column with one edgelooselyin .the keyways. l8. so that: the supporting..members may slide freely lengthwise .of .the bar .19. The-bar leDrums Brand-10 aremounted upon the axle- .55' I9 may be iinitedtothe frame byrivets ;l9',.bolts,

plete allowable travel of the parts.

or other suitable means extending through one end of the bar l9 turned at right angles to the remainder of the bar.

When so constructed, when the shaft I4 is rotated in one direction, it will cause all of the adjusting members II to turn upon their threads into the bores II of the supporting members into which they are threaded, thus contracting the spacing of the adjacent successive supporting members II and bringing them closer together, and as the shaft I4 is turned in the opposite direction, the adjusting members will be unscrewed from their complementary supporting members, thus expanding or widening the spacing of the supporting members.

It is obvious that the threads be fine or coarse as desired.

The innermost supporting ,member of each series is rigidly united to the frame or it may be rigidly united to the transverse bar I9, and it is obvious that as the threading upon all the supporting members and adjusting members is uniform; when the'shaft; I4 is turned in either direction, all of the supporting members will be moved members and the outermost supporting member of the series will be moved on the shaft a distance equal to the sum of the movements of all the supporting members relative to each next adjoiningsupporting member.

With the threads Ho and I1 utilized as the means of adjusting the spacing, it is obvious that 'considerable'movement of the hand-wheels I5 and I6 will be required to accomplish the comprovide a more rapid adjustment, I have shown in Figures 8 and 9 an alternate form in which instead of cutting threads Ilc on the internal periphery of the heads of the supporting members, a plurality of grooves I Ie are cut therein.

I prefer to utilize either two or four of these grooves Ile. When these grooves are used, tongues Ila are formed upon the spacing members adapted-to fit into and travel in the grooves -I,Ie. Thus, when four grooves He are utilized.

for each head of the adjusting rings or members,

-a one-quarter revolution of the hand-wheel will cause the complete permissible lateral travel of the supporting members and the adjusting rings to take place or if only two grooves are used, a

half turn of the .shaft I4 will cause the complete permissible lateral travel of the parts i to take place. As both the supporting members and the adjusting rings are free to slide lengthwise upon the shaft I4, it is obvious that when the innermost supporting. member is secured in fixed position, the travel of the successive members will be varied-that is, the third supporting member will travellaterally twice the distance that the second member travels. The fourth supporting member will travel three times the distance that the second one travels and so on, and when the last supportingmember is reached, the distance it travels will be. equivalent to the travel of the second member multiplied by the number of succeeding members in the series.

In my description I have described the lower series of supporting members in which the fin- :gers .are arrangedv in a horizontalzplane at the -.top of the supporting members and may thus act to support the bread while being ,sliced.

- A similar series of adjusting members is arranged'upon the shaft I3 at a height above the lowerseries corre'sponding'to the height of'a loaf I I and II may uniformly relative to their adjacent supporting In order to and the feed table and the discharge table 20 may be formed separately and mounted so as to meet above the middle line of the pulley as shown in Figure 12.

For simplicity of manufacture, the feed and discharge chutes 23 and 20 may be made exactly alike with the same number of slots I2 in the same relative positions as shown in Figure 12 and when so formed, the cutting courses of the blades on one side of the pulleys will pass through alternating slots in the feed table and the opposite cutting courses of the blades will be staggered so as to pass through the slots in the discharge table alternating with the slots through which the blades pass in the feed table.

The feed and discharge tables shown in Figure 12 are diagrammatic only. The bread passing along the feed chute will stand with its long axis at rightangles to the sides of the feed table and therefore at a slight angle to the drums or pulleys I0 so that the approaching loaves will contact the blades in succession from one end to the other end of the loaf rather than to contact them simultaneously.

The angle of the feed chute will be such that the cutting courses of the first blade at the rear of the table will contact the loaf at the proper distance from the end of the loaf and the oppo- -site cutting course of the same blade will make the next successive slicing cut, and so on throughout the entire series. With sixteen inch loaves and with the slices half an inch thick, the required angle will be approximately ten degrees less or greater than a right angle.

I make no claim to any special form of feed or discharge chute or appliance, and feed tables either horizontal or inclined, or belts, chains or any other form of feeding apparatus desired may be utilized.

In the operation of my apparatus, the slicing blades are mounted upon the drums 9 and ID in the usual way and the intermediate portions twisted sufiiciently to pass through the slots I2 inthe fingers I2, the fingers I2 being inclined at an angle to the body of the supporting members ll corresponding to the angle of the feed chute to the pulleys as above described.

When the blades I5 have been mountedin the slots I2, the relative spacing "thereof may be adjusted by; the hand-wheels I5 and [6, which may be interconnected so as to move simultaneously, by any of the connecting means 1n common use and'well-known for that purpose.

After the spacing has been adjusted, the blades are tensioned to the desired tension. This may be accomplished bymovement of the drums or by individual tensioning apparatus, but as, such tensioning appliances are well-known and in common use, I make no claim thereto.

When it is desired to change the s acin the blades, the hand-wheels I5 and I6 a turned simultaneously to narrow or spread the spacing of the blades as desired. 7

An important advantage of the angling bread chute s that very little lateral pressure of the guides upon theblades is necessarybecausewith thefbladesrunning'on sixinch pulleys or drums at'anangle'to the bread'chute as described,the oppositesllcihg courses of a given blade will automatically run themselves inplanesparallel totlie sidesof the'chute about half 'aninch apart. Withdrums ofigreater diameter the necessary angle to producethis spacing will be correspondiii'gly'less; 'I'hereforemuch of theheating and 'damageto the blades from friction with the g uides'can be" eliminated or greatly reduced;

" ""Itwill ben'oted that in' the operation'of the spacing mechanism described, the lateral movement'of all the supporting members from one po'si tio'npf" adjustment to another is uniform, simultaneous and positive and that when the supporting members are moved into their closest position of "adjustment, the adjusting rings "may he entirely within thebores'in the heads of the supportingmembers so that adjacent supportmembers will b'einpontact witheach other. 'Thispermits a structure of great compactness that'can bearra'nged to slice exceptionally thin slices.

While "I' have shown slotted fingers united to "the"supporting'members; it is obvious that 'pairs 'of'separ'ate' fingersmay be mounted in each of the supporting members in place of the single jslotted fingers andwill function in exactly the same-way.

Various modifications of my apparatus may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention and I do not limit my claims to the precise forms'shovvnin the drawings.

I claim':

1. In"a bread slicing machine the combinati'on with a frameyof a pairof spaced pulleys rotatably mounted thereon, a plurality of spaced *band blades carried by the pulleys, a guiding and spacing'assemb'ly to twist, space and guide the blades approximately midway between the pulleys, comprising'a'crossbar rotatably mounted thereon; a'series of annular supporting members slidably mounted upon said crossbar carrying slottednngers" to receive, twist and space the blades, aseries'of adjusting rings mounted upon the crossbanin alternation with the supporting rotating the crossbar and adjusting ring where by the co-acting threads will simultaneously draw closer together or expand uniformly the series of supporting members according to the direction of rotation of the crossbar and a stop bar carried by the frame arranged to co-act with the supporting members to prevent rotation thereof.

2. A bread slicing machine as described in claim 1, said fingers and slots therein extending horizontally and at an angle of approximately eighty degrees to the rotatable crossbar.

3. A mechanical movement for uniformly changing the spacing of a series of elements, comprising the combination with a series of annular supporting members each having an in- 'ternal'ly threaded head and an externally grooved neck; formed-integral, -of* a series of flangedadjusting rings mounted in alternation with the supporting members, each adjustingring having its-periphery threaded to correspondto the internal threading of a supporting member so as 't'o'mesh therewith, pins-mounted in the flanges "neck formed of'a single piece of metal, of a series of fian ged adjusting rings mounted in alternation with the supporting members, each adjusting ring having its periphery threaded to correspond to theinternal threading of an adja'cent supporting member and in mesh therewith, means-mounted inthe flanges of' the adjusting rings and'ex'tending into the grooves of the" adjacent necks of the supporting members respectively tosecure them in contact relation,

means for rotating the adjusting rings simul-' taneously, and means for securing the supporting members against rotation. I

5. A mechanical movement as described in claim L'saidmeans' for rotating the adjusting rings" including a crossbar extending lengthwise through anddirectly carrying both the supportingmembers and the adjusting rings on which crossbar the supporting members and adjusting rings are free toslide longitudinally and to which crossbar the adjusting rings are congnected'by keys or' tongues and grooves to'pre- "vent rotation of the crossbar relative to the adjusting rings while permitting free longitudinal movement thereof. 7

6; A mechanical movement as described in claim 4; said means to'secure the supporting members against rotation comprising grooves cut inthe' periphery of the supporting members and a crossbar rigidly mounted in engagement with such'groovesbut on'which the supporting membersa're free to slide lengthwise.

7. A mechanical movement'comprising a supporting" frame, a crossbar rotatably mounted thereon, a seriesof annular supporting members one of which is stationary and the others slidably mounted directly upon said crossbar, a series of adjusting rings mounted upon said crossbar in alternation with the supporting members, each supporting member comprising a threaded head and an externally grooved neck, each of said adjusting rings comprising a ring mounted upon said crossbar and freely slidable lengthwise thereon but secured against rotation thereon, threads upon the adjusting rings in mesh with and co-acting with the threads of the adjacent supporting members respectively, means mounted in the adjusting rings and extending into the grooves of the adjacent necks of the supporting members respectively to retain them in contact, and means for rotating the crossbar whereby the co-acting threads will draw closer together or expand uniformly the series of supporting members according to the direction of rotation of the crossbar.

8. In a. bread slicing machine the combination with a frame, of a pair of spaced pulleys rotatrespectively,

prising a ring mounted upon said crossbar and freely slidable lengthwise thereon but secured against rotation thereonpthreads upon the adjusting rings in mesh with and coacting with the threads of the adjacent supporting members pins mounted in the adjusting rings and extending into the grooves of the adjacent necks of the supporting members. respectively,

:and means for rotating the crossbar whereby the co-acting threads will 'simultaneously'draw closer together or expand uniformly the series of supporting members according to the direction of rotation of the crossbar.

9. A bread slicing machine as described in claim 8, said fingers extending horizontally and at an angle of approximately 80 degrees to the rotatable crossbar.

10. A bread slicing machine comprising a frame, a pair of spaced pulleys rotatably mounted thereon, a plurality of spaced band-blades carried by the pulleys, a spaced pair of guiding and spacing assemblies to twist, space and guide the blades between the pulleys, each assembly comprising a crossbar rotatably mounted on the frame, a series of annular supporting members each composed of a single piece slidably mounted directly upon the crossbar carrying fingers to receive, twist and space the blades, a series of adjusting rings mounted upon the crossbar in alternation with the supporting members, each supporting member including a threaded head and an externally grooved neck, each of said adjusting rings comprising a ring mounted upon the crossbar and freely slidable lengthwise thereon but secured against rotation thereon, threads upon the adjusting rings in mesh with and co-acting with the threads of the adjacent supporting members respectively, pins mounted in the adjusting rings and extending into the grooves of the adjacent necks of the supporting ing to members respectively, and means for rotating the supporting members in each series accordthe direction of rotation of the crossbars.

11. A quick-acting mechanical movement for uniformly adjusting the spacing of adjacent members of a series of carrying elements, comprising a series of annular supporting members mounted directly upon the rotatable'bar, each supporting member beingcomposed of a single piece having an annular middlewall surrounding said bar and an annular flange extending laterally therefrom on one side and a grooved neck on the other side, said annular flange being formed with a plurality of parallel spiral grooves .on the inner face thereof extending laterally the width of the flange and for a part only of the circumference thereof, a series of adjusting rings mounted upon said bar in alternation with and between successive supporting members, each adjusting ring comprising an annular body mounted upon said supportingbar and having an external laterally projecting annular flange united thereto and said body being provided with tongues or fingers adapted to enter and co-act with the spiral grooves of the supporting members, and pins united to said annular flange adapted to enter and co-act with the external grooves in the neck and adjacent supporting member, said rotatable bar being free to rotate within the bodies of the supporting members without rotating them but being keyed to'the adjusting rings so that the rotation of said bar will cause said adjusting rings to rotatewith it, both said supporting members and adjusting rings being slidable longitudinally upon other.

, HARRY J. CRINER. 

